The proliferation of social media, online gaming, online forums, and cell phone use have given today’s children technological access undreamed of a generation ago. Kids now have access to a staggering amount of content, people, and information online. With these advances, parents now have even more challenges when it comes to keeping their children safe and happy. They want them safe from predators and happy in the sense that they are free from online bullying. Both of these concerns are top of mind for parents as their kids create Facebook pages, play online games, and text incessantly.
Here is a summary of some of the main threats to the well-being of your children. In a constantly connected world, knowing where the danger is is the first step in prevention and safety.
predatory adults
According to suficiente.org, there are currently over 600,000 registered sex offenders in the US and over four percent of all children, while online, will be exposed to some form of suggestive solicitation by an adult. Naive or rebellious children could fall prey to these online predators.
peer bullying
The media has covered some high-profile cases of teen suicide and online bullying in recent years. According to some statistics from the US Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 52% of students report being cyberbullied at some point, while 25% report repeated bullying through their cell phones or profiles. from social networks (statisticbrain.com).
inappropriate content
Pornography and inappropriate content are everywhere on the Internet. According to Alexa.com, four of the top twenty sites with the highest web traffic are pornographic in nature. When you consider what often shows up in a search engine when you enter a seemingly innocuous search, or the amount of inappropriate spam you receive, it’s not hard to see why this is a problem for keeping children isolated from inappropriate content. .
Narcissism and Compulsion
Children, and especially adolescents, are hyper-aware of social status and image. This mindset can lead to unhealthy amounts of time on social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook. Kids get stuck trying to constantly stay in the know, connect and interact online in the hope of gaining acceptance or being more popular.
Secret
More data from the US Department of Health indicates that only 52% of teens exposed to bullying or inappropriate solicitation report the incidents to their parents. There are no numbers on exposure to inappropriate content, but it’s probably a safe bet that many of those incidents also go unreported.
All of these threats are very real, and considering the amount of time kids spend online, they could be present on a daily basis. Here are some tips to help keep your children safe, while bridging the gap between parental control and proper education for your children.
• Children should “friend” their parents on Facebook and allow them to be “followed” on Twitter. As teens get older, parents are sure to get pushback, but this is a surefire way to see what your kids are posting and what’s being said about them. It’s a fine line between monitoring and jamming, so caution is advised.
• Do not allow children to create their own personal email addresses until they reach a more mature and responsible age. Any account created online must be linked to the parent’s email. This will not only allow you to monitor which sites your children are signing up for, but will generally require you to consent to the use and give you time to discuss any concerns with your children or decline the request.
• Make sure your children are informed about what is appropriate to post online and never provide contact information or post inappropriate or suggestive images of themselves. In today’s world of social media, kids can be their own worst enemy. They shouldn’t post anything online they don’t want on a billboard, as this is essentially what online posting is. And removing or controlling content from the Internet once it is available is not a simple matter.
• Young adults tend to want to add as many peers as possible to their social networking circles. But the reality is that many of these “friends” are not committed to your child’s best interest and often become a source of teasing or cyber bullying. Make sure your kids only accept requests from friends they know and trust.
• Strict rules and guidelines must be established and agreed to before allowing children to go online. These rules and guidelines should also be reviewed frequently as your children’s online experience grows. You need to set boundaries on what is acceptable, limit the amount of time you spend online, and make them understand what you will and will not accept in terms of behavior.
• Children are by nature naive, curious and trusting. This is dangerous. So keep an eye on your children’s activities. Review your browsing history through browser tools. You can also purchase programs that will enhance your monitoring capabilities.
• Set your parental controls on your computer. Every operating system and browser has a set of parental controls. You need to make sure you set the appropriate limits or settings for each. You can also adjust the settings on Google and the other search engines to be strict, ensuring that only the appropriate content is returned regardless of the search.
Educating themselves and their children is ultimately the most important step they can take. Sit down with your children and establish ground rules. Review those ground rules every time your kids get a new device, create a social media account, or sign up for an online game. Parents have the unenviable task of walking the fine line between building trust and keeping children safe. Applying a combination of education, guidance, and follow-up should help.